Not inflation, nor even tinsel townies, onions top search list in Google engine

Wonder what’s been the talking point in Google search engine? Onions, what else? The all-important edible bulb vegetable has topped the search list in Google search for the past three months pushing down subjects like inflation.

According to Google officials, with the growing onion prices in the country, the search of onion has also increased.

“It was at its peak on September 13. It was more searched on the regional internet. The residents of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal are searching more onion in Google search,” said a spokesperson of Google.

She added that onion is more searched than inflation. “It was almost 50% more than the inflation.”

Onions are being sold at Rs60-Rs80 per kg in the retail market. According to Nanasaheb Patil, chairman of Agriculture Product Market Committee (APMC) of Lasalgaon, there is a huge shortage of onions. “People fear that the prices may go even higher. So, it’s not surprising that there has been an increasing number of searches in Google engine. This is because people want to understand its market trend and availability,” said Patil.  

Asia’s largest onion market Lasalgaon itself is facing shortage of onion supply. “If there’s shortage at the main market, then it will obviously have repercussions on other markets,” added Patil.  

Vedika Narvekar, senior analyst at Angel Commodities, said: “Onion is a major component which causes price rise resulting in inflation. That could be the reason why more and more people are searching onion in the Google search engine than any other commodities,” she explained.